Bennedict Mathurin posted 24 points and 12 rebounds as the Indiana Pacers snapped an eight-game losing streak with a 127-118 win over the Charlotte Hornets in Indianapolis on Wednesday.
Pascal Siakam scored 22 points, while Jay Huff added a season-best 20 off the bench.
Kon Knueppel had 28 points, Miles Bridges 25 and LaMelo Ball 18 for the Hornets, who lost their fourth straight.
Indiana didn’t shoot below 60% from the field or 50% from 3-point range in any of the first three quarters, before fending off a gritty Charlotte rally in the fourth.
Knueppel was active early with nine first-quarter points, but the Pacers rode a 13-5 headstart and a 7-of-13 clip from deep to a 38-33 lead at the end of the period.
Charlotte racked up 17 offensive boards to Indiana’s three in the first half, giving the Hornets 15 more field-goal attempts, but the visitors’ stroke continued to be awry.
After going 11 of 29 in the first frame, Charlotte misfired at 7 of 29 in the second, including 1 of 11 from beyond the arc, as the Pacers won the quarter 32-21 to hold sway 70-54 at halftime.
Mathurin had 11 of his 16 first-half points in the second period.
Indiana’s advantage swelled to 90-66 when Huff followed an authoritative dunk over Ryan Kalkbrenner with a strong drive and two threes.
The Hornets trimmed the gap to 14 as turnovers began to briefly mount for the Pacers, but the home side steadied and was back out 104-84 with a quarter to play when T.J. McConnell’s jumper with 6.3 seconds left was followed by Ben Sheppard’s slick inbound steal and two free throws.
Pat Connaughton and Knueppel caught fire in the fourth, inspiring a 15-0 Charlotte burst which slashed Indiana’s lead to 117-109.
Mathurin had his pocket picked by Collin Sexton before spinning around and chasing down the Hornets sixth man. Mathurin swatted Sexton’s shot from behind, denying Charlotte the opportunity to close the gap to six points with 3:53 left.
–Field Level Media
